Other Half
by Katsumi Amaya
Summary: "Phantom saw, second by second, the change in Danny's eyes. Danny knew he was right. He could literally do anything he wanted, go anywhere he wanted, and no one could stop him." Danny/Phantom, Pitch Pearl, rated T for language and dark themes. CONTINUED
1. In the Beginning

It had started out innocently enough.

A small voice in the back of his head, whispering things to him in the middle of class, or during lunch. Especially when he was desperately trying to sleep. It started out as nothing more than a minor annoyance. A simple, "Shut UP, Phantom!" muttered under his breath would make the voice stop, but never for very long.

Danny would sit in class, bored as hell, when the voice of his alter-ego would suddenly appear. _"Man, it must suck to sit in this place, day in and day out." _ Phantom would whisper, his mere voice an invitation to something Danny wanted no part of, in the beginning.

**"As much as I agree with you, leave me alone." **Danny would say to the space in his head where Phantom resided.

Phantom wouldn't let up. _"But Danny." _Phantom seemed to purr into his ear. _"Don't you want to have some fun? I'm stuck in your head all day, I get so lonely." _

Danny lowered his head and hopped that no one would notice the faint blush that covered his cheeks. **"NO, Phantom. Go away."**

Phantom sighed. _"As you wish." _He retreated back into his corner, and Danny spent the rest of his day in peace.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

At first, it started with little things. Danny was less hungry than he used to be. Where he once could scarf down almost three Nasty Burgers, it took a real effort to finish just one. He used to be able to run and fight and not even break a sweat, but he found himself with less energy than usual. His sleep patterns changed as well. He would sleep fitfully, and wake up every few hours for no reason at all. He had no nightmares, he had no need to pee, he just woke up, glanced at the clock, and then fell back asleep. The interruptions in his sleep cycle, although they seemed minor, hugely affected his ability to focus and stay awake.

Phantom was always there, offering words of comfort. _"Being half ghost, you're going to become more like a ghost as time goes on."_ He explained, in that same sultry voice. _"Ghosts don't need food, or sleep. As a human, these changes affect you. Give it a little time, and your body will adjust."_ Danny accepted Phantom's explanation, because hey, it made sense. Being half ghost, half dead, was going to affect you, right?

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

The changes beyond his sleeping patterns and eating habits happened slowly, over time. Danny had picked up the habit of biting his nails- biting them until they bled, but only on his left hand. Once his nails hand been chewed down to the nub, Danny picked at the skin surrounding his nails with his thumb until it peeled away and left his fingertips red, swollen, and raw. However, this was something that he could hide easily by keeping his hands in his pockets.

His other habit, however, Danny didn't even notice, despite it having gone on for about a few months. Whenever he was thinking, or bored, or anything else that didn't involve his hands, Danny would scratch the skin on his left arm, above his wrist- constantly. A few times before, he had scratched and scratched until it bled, and only then did he realize that he had slowly scraping his fingernails across it for hours. He would wash his arm off, slip on a hoodie to hide it, and be done. He didn't want anyone to notice and cause a fuss. The last thing he needed was Jazz overreacting to something that would probably just go away.

_"Everyone has bad habits." _Phantom assured in Danny's brief moments of doubt. _"You are half human, after all. Humans do things like this sometimes. Just try and stop, and it'll go away."_

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Danny was starting to develop some strange habits. Besides scratching his skin and picking at his fingers, he no longer seemed to let anyone touch him. He wouldn't hug any of his friends, or his parents. He would kiss his parents goodnight, or anything. He gave people in the hallway a wide berth, and if he anyone did bump into him, he winced and quickly moved away. Danny didn't know why he was acting this way. It wasn't because he was seriously hurt anywhere, it's just that the thought of touching anyone for any length of time seemed to disgust him. He didn't understand it.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Danny slowly began to drift away from his friends. It wasn't something that happened overnight- in fact, it took several months for Danny to realize what had been happening. Danny didn't see any changed in his schedule- he still hung out with Sam and Tucker as much as he used to. It's just that whenever he was with Sam and Tucker, he tended to spend the entire time talking to Phantom, silently, in his mind. Phantom was rather witty and funny. Danny didn't know how he had never noticed it before. His two best friends, still rather immature and childish, started to take a backseat to Phantom, cool and confident and mature. Of course, Tucker and Sam noticed the change in Danny's behavior, but when they confronted him about it, Danny withdrew completely. He didn't talk to them if he couldn't avoid it, and turned down all invites to movies or parties.

_"What do they know anyway? They're so childish. Stick with me, kid. I won't lead you astray." _Phantom regarded Danny fondly, still within the depths of Danny's mind. Danny smiled up at Phantom, just and inch or two taller than him, and reached out to touch Phantom on the shoulder.

**"You won't abandon me, like Sam and Tucker?" **Danny asked, his voice sincere.

Phantom took hold of Danny's hand. _"Never."_ He promised.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Sam and Tucker knew that they only had one person they could turn to for help: Jazz. Because Tuck had her cell phone number, than managed to tell her everything without Danny knowing. Jazz agreed to confront Danny with both Sam and Tucker- an intervention of sorts.

That Saturday, Jazz convinced Danny to leave his room and come down to the library with her. Danny spent the entire time sulking, his arms crossed, and silent. While Jazz pretended to search for books, she studied Danny of the corner of her eye. He stared off into space, his eyes glazed over- yet his expression showed focus. As he continued to drift off, Danny slowly smiled a soft smile, nothing creepy or disturbing. Just a small smile, as though someone had whispered something kind into his ear. Then, Danny suddenly ducked his head and blushed darkly. His eyebrows scrunched together, and his smile faded slightly. However, a few moments later, Danny leaned back, the smile there again.

Jazz was bewildered. She had never read of anything that could be causing Danny to act like this. She decided that they sooner she, Sam, and Tucker go answers out of him, the better. She ushered Danny back to the car and drove them back to Fenton Works, where she knew Sam and Tucker were waiting.

The car ride was silent, and Jazz to tell Danny twice that they were home before he finally stirred. Jazz made sure to walk behind Danny, because she knew he would try to run. When Danny entered the living room, he did a double take when he Sam and Tucker sitting on the couch, looking at him remorsefully. Danny turned when he heard Jazz shut the front door behind her.

"What the hell is going on?" Danny asked carefully, looking from his friends to his sister. Jazz stepped forward, arms out to show openness and acceptance.

Sam spoke up before Jazz could say anything. "We're here to get the old Danny back." She stood from the couch, and Tuck followed. "Everyone has noticed that you've changed." She stepped closer to Danny, and Danny stepped back, closer to Jazz. "You never eat, or talk to anybody. You don't hang out with us anymore."

"Yeah, Danny." Tucker stepped up. "What's up with you lately?"

Danny's breath started increase. With Sam and Tuck before him, and Jazz behind him, he was starting to feel trapped.

_"Danny, do you want me to get you out of here?" _Phantom asked.

**"Please." **Danny answered back. He closed his eyes and felt himself falling back, farther, until Phantom started to take over. From Sam, Tucker, and Jazz's point of view, all they saw was a single ring appear around Danny's waist, then split into two as Phantom and Danny switched places.

Jazz realized what was happening a split second too late. She reached out to grab Danny's- now Phantom's- arm, but he turned intangible before she could. He kicked off from the floor and soared upward, ready to disappear through the ceiling.

"Danny, wait!" Sam cried out. Phantom stopped and looked down at her angrily. He became tangible again, and glared down at her with bright green eyes.

"My name is not Danny." Phantom growled. "My name is Phantom."

Three pairs of eyes widened in shock. The ghost above them was certainly not Danny. His voice was different, as was the look in his eyes.

Tuck yelled up at Phantom. "What have you done with Danny? Where you overshadowing him?"

In Phantom's mind, Danny stirred with anger. **"How dare they accuse you of that! You would never-"**

_"Danny." _Phantom said. _"I will handle this."_

Phantom lowered himself slightly, close enough to hear but out of arm's reach. "Danny is here, in my head. He isn't very happy with you three." He shared, smirking down at them.

Jazz spoke up. "Since when did Danny's ghost half have a consciousness of it's own?" She sounded morbidly fascinated. Sam shot her an irritated look that she missed entirely.

Phantom leaned back in midair, as though resting on an invisible lounge chair. "Ignorant fools. I have always been with Danny. When Danny turned on the Fenton Portal, he didn't just magically get ghost powers. If that was how it worked, then any human who entered the ghost zone would receive the ghost powers. No, I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. When Danny pressed that button, I was in the same spot in the different dimension. We fused." Phantom shifted his position so that he was floating on his stomach. He held up his chin with his hand, his elbow resting on an invisible solid surface. "Whenever Danny was in trouble, I lent him my powers for a while. I didn't want to see him get hurt."

"You care about him." Jazz said faintly, staring up in wonder along with Sam and Tucker.

"Of course I care about him!" Phantom snapped, irritated at being interrupted. "He's my other half! Now where was I? Oh, yes. I'm sure you three remember that little fiasco where Danny and I were separated because of the Fenton Net. It changed both our personalities for a short time. However, when we were joined back together, I found that I had gained a bit more freedom; instead of being constantly trapped in Danny's mind, I now had a voice of my own, and when Danny went ghost, I was able to take control. Danny and I have been fighting ghosts together ever since." Phantom finished his story, and started to drift towards the ceiling.

Jazz, Tuck, and Sam called for Phantom to come back, but he ignored them. He righted himself and turned intangible. He drifted through the second floor, all the way up until he reached the roof of the control center. There, Phantom sat and watched the sun set slowly in the sky. Humans were selfish creatures, all of them.

Well, except for Danny. Danny was different. Danny was his other half.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Danny's sleep patterns, now permanently changed from the past six months of irregular sleep, had begun to change yet again. Danny didn't sleep most nights, but when he did it only for a few hours at a time. In his spare time, he either laid on his bed and talked to Phantom, listened to music, or wrote. He had taken up writing down song lyrics that popped into his head, just for something to do. Phantom encourage him to try drawing, but Danny had never been very good at things like that.

A week or so after his confrontation with Sam, Tucker, and Jazz, Danny began to have terrible nightmares. Sometimes they were something specific, where he was falling, or his skin was peeled off, or some other vague idea. Other times, his dreams would be vivid and terrifying, to the point where he woke up screaming. Tonight seemed to be one of those nights.

Danny awoke suddenly with a cry at his lips. He sat up bolt right, breathing fast, almost to the point of hyperventilation. He was covered in a cold sweat. He glanced around the room in a panic, trying to gain his bearings.

Phantom was there for him instantly. _"Danny, what wrong? Did you have another night terror?"_

Danny nodded. He pulled his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs. "I... I had the most horrible one." Danny whispered, knowing that Phantom could hear him. "I dreamed that I was laying in bed, fast asleep, when I felt something on my toes and fingers stinging me. I woke up, and my bed was filled with tics." Danny shuddered. "Huge, bright read tics and big as my thumb nail. They were crawling all over my body, eating my skin and my tissue and my organs." Danny started to sob, terror still running live through his blood. "I screamed and screamed but you weren't there, you weren't..." He couldn't speak anymore. He lowered his forehead to his knees and sobbed.

_"Danny, Danny, you're okay now." _Phantom reassured.

After a few more minutes, Danny began to calm down. His breathing slowed, and the tears stopped. "God, you must think I'm pathetic._" _He sniffed and wiped his eyes with the heel of his palm.

Phantom shook his head. _"Danny, I would never think that." _Phantom said. _"You are my other half. I could never think lowly of you." _Phantom smiled, and Danny returned it weekly.

"I don't think I'm going back to sleep after this." Danny murmured. All desire to sleep had left him, and Phantom nodded in understanding.

_"Why don't you put on some music, and just relax. We can talk in the morning." _Danny agreed, and spent the rest of the night listening to his MP3 player. He was feeling better already.

Phantom always knew best.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

In the end, Danny nearly stopped eating and sleeping entirely. He still drank water ever every once in a while, and he knew that need would probably never go away. He was half human, after all. Because of his lack of food intake, he hardly ever had to use the bathroom anymore. For this, he was grateful. Dash usually hung out in the boys' bathroom when he skipped class, and would beat up anybody weaker than him when they came in.

Danny's wardrobe hand changed as well. Instead of wearing his usual black and red shirt with blue jeans, he wore more black, white, and sometimes dark blue. He wanted to dress more like Phantom, to be honest. However, he couldn't be to obvious about it. So he just wore plain black shirts, sometimes shirts with metal or alternative band logos on them. He traded in his regular sneakers for converse, which were very comfortable. He felt good looking like this. It was slipping out of an old, dusty, skin to reveal something beautiful underneath.

_"You look amazing."_ Phantom whispered to him one morning as he dressed for school. Danny smiled and flicked the hair out of his eyes. He had grown his hair out longer, and it now tended to hang in his eyes, something he knew looked good on him.

**"You look even better." **Danny answered with a coy smile.

_"Can I come out and play?" _Phantom asked. Danny checked the hallway to make sure the coast was clear, then give Phantom the okay.

It had taken quite a bit of practice. Maybe a month or two, every day after school, Danny would try to separate himself from Phantom. He had gotten the idea from Vlad, who had figured it out himself. The technique was not to copy yourself, but to for a short amount of time seriously rip apart the human and the ghost. It couldn't last for very long, maybe to an hour or two tops, but Danny knew that that would take years of practice. For now, Danny could separate from Phantom for only a few minutes at a time.

Danny closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. He felt a strange sensation in his gut- almost as if some pair of invisible hands had reached and tried to tear him apart from the inside out. He grunted in pain, and bit his lip. He spread his arms wide, and from his chest Phantom appeared. At first, Phantom was nearly see through, and couldn't be heard when he spoke, but after a few seconds his image became solid, and his voice returned. "Danny." Phantom placed his gloved hand on Danny's shoulder and smiled softly. "You're getting so good and controlling these powers."

Danny smiled and took hold of Phantom's hand. Unlike touches from others, Danny welcomed Phantom's touch. Phantom was, after all, the only one he had left. His other half. "I have a good teacher." He said softly, looking at at Phantom in admiration. Phantom stepped forward and wrapped Danny in his arms, a warm embrace that Danny accepted without a second thought.

As Phantom held Danny close, a smile spread across his face. A cruel, wicked smile. As Danny snuggled in his arms, Phantom though of all the bridges he had Danny burn. Danny's friends and given up on him, and his sister going to soon leave for college. Danny had pushed away any and all other human beings. He felt Phantom's pain, the same that he had felt before he had died. The constant self injury, the lack of food, the horrible, horrible nightmares that he had fed Danny- that had all served their purpose.

Danny was now his, and his alone.

"Why don't you skip school today? We could take the van and drive down to the lake." Phantom suggested in his smooth, sultry voice. Danny pulled away for a moment, hesitant.

"I don't know Phantom. My parents will know that I skipped school, and that I took their van." He bit his lip, and Phantom kissed him softly.

"What could they possible do? Ground you? Yell at you?" Phantom ran a hand through Danny's longer hair. "You're half ghost. No human on this planet could tell you what to do. No one can stop you. No one can control you. No one can hold you down. Why waste your life sitting in a useless building filled with horrible people, learning things that you will never use in life?"

Phantom saw, second by second, the change in Danny's eyes. Danny knew he was right. He could literally do anything he wanted, go anywhere he wanted, and no one could stop him. He was half ghost, higher up, more powerful and any regular human could ever wish to be. Danny smiled up at Phantom, a spark in his eye that Phantom loved.

"Let's get the fuck out of here. Screw my family, and screw this town." Danny pressed his lips against Phantom hard, and Phantom kissed back passionately. The ache in both their bodies told them that they needed to rejoin, but they stayed wrapped up in each other until the pain became unbearable, and Danny was gasping for air.

Phantom rejoined with Danny, and with the keys to the van they walked right out of that house. Danny started up the van, and they drove out of that town, ready to take on the world together.

The two halves to the one whole. Human, and Ghost. All bridges burned, all ties severed, they had no one but each other. And neither of them would have it any other way.


	2. Danny

_A/N: Much thanks to the most wonderful person in the world, Dragon-Face! She inspired this and the next chapter, so go thank her plz!_

_Edit: Corrected some spelling mistakes.  
_

Despite all my best efforts, I can't make something so horrible sound beautiful with the right words. Few people on this planet have that talent, and I am not one of them. My name is Danny Fenton. This is my story.

This whole thing started off, well, about as normally as anything else in my fucked up life. Living in a town infested with ghosts, not exactly normal for other people. You tell outsiders, disbelievers, and they scoff at you. They claim that ghosts aren't real. Phantom has to whisper in my ear to keep me from killing them. He reminds me that they're ignorant fools, and that they will taste revenge. Not now, but someday. Someday soon.

Then, one day, I left. Simple as that. I took the keys to my parent's van and drove out of that stupid fucking town and as far away as I could. I drove until the full tank was empty. We ended up abandoning the van on the side of the road to walk. We caught a bus eventually.

Who's we, you ask? Oh, just me and the ghost boy named Phantom living in my body. He talks to me in my head sometimes. Also sometimes, he can separate from me and become his own physical body. Those times are nice. Very nice.

Do I sound insane? I know that I'm not. I come from a town where ghost attacks are more common than fire drills. Ask anyone in Amity Park, they'll tell you.

Anyway, Phantom and I ran away. Why? Why not? The people in that town were only holding me back. Sam and Tucker, my former friends, ended up being nothing more than mindless pawns. They acted so concerned and worried- what bullshit. The only thing they wanted was to control me, to make me act like the little Danny they expected me to be. It was suffocating. I am loyal to only one.

That one is Phantom.

Undying loyalty, as much as it may make me sound like a tool, can be a good thing. It gives you a reason for living, which is positive for sure. Loyalty can be a good thing, as long as you're loyal to the right people. Like Phantom. Powerful, smart, sexy, and able to get anything he wants from anyone. How could I say no to him? If I did, he'd kill me.

God, I love him so much. Everything about him. I honestly don't now how I managed to survive twelve years without him. I must have been so lost, so confused... I don't bother to try too hard to remember it. Memories from Amity Park are useless to me now.

All I need is Phantom.


	3. Phantom

_Edit: Corrected some spelling mistakes_

Looking at Danny today, you wouldn't know who he used to be. Before I changed him, of course. Before I secured him as mine. Rightfully mine. He used to be so carefree. He used to hang out with those idiot friends. He used to laugh.

How pointless. Danny didn't need such frivolous things. As I made sure he knew, he only needed me.

It was quite easy, really. I started with gentle teasing. A small coo in his ear, enough to rile him up a little. Harmless. Then, I put my real plan into action. As I gained more and more power, Danny lost his humanity bit by bit. His appetite decreased, as did his need for sleep. I offered him comforting words, reassuring words, and he lapped them up.

Then came the self injury. Whenever Danny was zoned out, watching TV or simply daydreaming, I would ease into control of his hands. I would pick and scratch at Danny's skin and nails until he bled. He didn't think anything of it, thanks to me. 'Oh, it's just a bad habit. You're only human!' Bullshit. But Danny didn't need to know that.

I burned all of Danny's bridges. His older sister, his idiot friends, his parents, even his enemies- I made sure that they no longer associated with him. I used some psychological methods, the easiest. It's not that hard to control someone's dreams. If they have enough nightmares about a certain person, they will subconsciously stay away. Simple.

I fed Danny nightmares, often ones that I remembered from when I was alive. Large crowds and ticks and falling. Through it all, I held Danny's hand. I was there for him. I spoon feeding him, but the spoon held poison. Danny fell for it hook, line, and sinker.

He is so pathetic.

These days, Danny worships me. All it takes is a pretty word here, and stroke on the cheek there- boom. He's head over heels in love with a ghost! Me! Humans are so easy to manipulate. It's boring, really.

In the end, I suppose Danny will die eventually. If he ever disobeyed me, I wouldn't hesitate to kill him. He knows it. And yet, he still follows me, ever faithful, ever loyal.

Idiot. Doesn't he know that, once I have no more use of him, I will simple toss him aside? What a mindless tool.

Too easy.


End file.
